In defence of our Govenment (and reluctantly) - the agument is the other way around. The past introduction of mandatory opening hours and the attempt to restrict excess drinking by these method has prove not to be effective and is counter-productive.

Removing these restrictions now may not deal with the 'binge-drinking' that has resulted from these restrictions and the big companies clever ways to get around them by obtaining and paying for late licenses (on the pretence of providing entertainment) - but these restrictions do need to be removed if this land is ever to have a chance of having sensible use of alcohol.